Dungeon Serpent – World of Sorrows
Release Date: 16th July 2021
Label: Nameless Grave Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
FFO: At The Gates, Dawn of Disease, Judgement, Amon Amarth.
Review By: The Wayfaerer
One-man projects are an interesting affair. The skills and talent required to write, mix, and record every instrument yourself and then put it all together into a coherent song is nothing short of remarkable. These are often passion projects and a great way for individuals to express their true artistic vision without worrying about it being muddied or modified from too many hands stretching and molding your work into something you never wanted it to be in the first place. The strengths and failures are entirely on you, and that is a challenge that many artists struggle with. For all the creative control that you have, it’s just as easy to crash and burn if something goes wrong. So, does Dungeon Serpent’sWorld of Sorrows, the debut project of a one-man-band fly or fall? Let’s find out.
Hailing from Vancouver, British Colombia, Dungeon Serpent is the vision of a young man simply known as Arawn, formerly of Necrotizing Fasciitis, a band so obscure it doesn’t even have an entry in the Metal Archives. So when you’re a nobody looking to put your name out there, a solo project can be the perfect calling card, and that is precisely what World of Sorrows is. While only five tracks long, it still clocks in at just under 35 minutes, which is enough to consider it a full-length album. Right off the bat, Necroscope tears into the viewer’s head with a fast-paced assault that gets the blood boiling. You can tell that the star of the show is Arawn’s guitar playing; the tone reminding me of the BOSS HM-2 Chainsaw grind of traditional Swedish death metal, but with a bit less of a harsher edge, giving it a more muddy, guttural feel, complimenting his growls. Decay continues the melodeath assault with a hint of thrash thrown in, before ending on a comforting solo and outro. Immortal Incubation turns the thrash dial up to 11 and runs with it, ripping into some fast-paced riffs and face-melting blast beats that last throughout the song. Cosmic Sorcery gives us a breather in the form of a slower, more groove inspired piece. It’s a welcome change of pace after the three-song assault that came previously. It’s a fine change that let’s the listener appreciate Arawn’s guitar skills. Finally, the album ends with the titular World of Sorrows, an instrumental piece that wears its inspirations on its sleeves. At first it feels like something from Iron Maiden, then old school Amon Amarth, even a bit of Kataklysm thrown in there. Easily my favorite off the record.
World of Sorrows is a bit of a mixed bag. While I certainly admire Arawn for having the talent to write, record, and produce an album all on his own, I felt like it could have used some more time in the oven. His guitar playing is definitely the standout, but everything else feels a tad basic. The bass is there to prop up the guitars and really nothing more. The drums were made using a machine, and they feel kind of stock, with no real oomph, no personality of their own. If Arawn had hired a session drummer, maybe this could have been rectified, but they’re still serviceable. The first three songs also tended to blend together after a while, sounding a bit too similar to each other for me to remember which one is which. Very few bands hit the nail on the head with their first work, and I think that a few more bandmates could help shape Arawn’s vision and turn Dungeon Serpent into a much more finely honed band. Overall though, a solid first outing to a new band.
(3 / 5)
